The use of thermal satellite data in dense water formation studies in the Mediterranean Sea

A set of thermal satellite images relative to the whole Mediterranean Sea during winter for the years 1992–1995 is analyzed. Special attention is focused on the study of the classical ‘sourcesʹ of dense water, which are discussed in the light of a criterion recently obtained through tank experiments by Narimousa and Maxworthy [Narimousa, S., Maxworthy, T., 1994. The interaction of unsteady, rotating convection with a density interface. Ocean Modelling (103)]. Combining satellite SST information with climatological data, this criterion provides insight into dense water formation (DWF) processes, particularly with regard to the identification of convective zones, in space and time, and the depths eventually reached by the newly formed dense water.